CHAPTER 2 : RETURN (2)

 

20 years passed, but he remembered perfectly .

‘Excluding me and Pierce, all of the newcomers died . ’

It wasn’t only them, but Oliver and squad commander Tane had also lost their lives .

‘We got attacked near Ale town by the goblins . ’

A gorge that got narrower .
That was where those **** were hiding in ambush .
The rose troop that was moving carelessly almost got swept up .

‘What can I do?’

Tell the commander the truth that the goblins were hiding to ambush them?

‘It would be fortunate if he doesn’t cut off my neck . ’

There was no way they would listen to the words of a newcomer without any proof .
No, in the first place he wouldn’t even meet him .

‘Should I tell squad commander Tane?’

It wasn’t a good option .
In his memories, he didn’t really have a friendly character .

‘Then, do I have to look how the squad gets annihilated?’

He couldn’t do so .
He didn’t want to also ruin this life .
Then, Roan’s face brightened

‘Ah! There was that . ’

The corner of his mouth slowly rose .
He looked at Tane as if he was waiting for something with eager eyes .

“Ah! Also… . . ”

Tane, that was packing his luggage, yelled with an expression as if he had remembered late .

“Is there someone that’s familiar with the zone of Ale? Someone that lived for long in that zone, or spent a long time . ”
‘This is it!’

Roan took a step and raised his right hand .

“I know it well . ”
“You?”

Tane frowned .

‘The guy who was being hit by Pete . ’

Pete wasn’t the type to get violent with no reason .
Then that meant that this guy in front of him had a problem .

‘Troublesome . ’

The role of guide was certainly important .
If he made a mistake, he could put in danger all of the squad .

“Do you really know well the zone of Ale?”
“Yes! I do . I can go from here, Ellin’s fortress, to Ale village with my eyes closed . ”
“Mmm . ”

Tane frowned and looked at Roan .

‘Well, the decision is made by the adjutant . ’

He didn’t keep thinking for long .
In the first place, he wasn’t the type to do so .

“Fine . What’s your name?”
“It is Roan . ”
“You pack your things immediately and follow me . ”

Tane walked and looked at general Lander .

“Lander . If you finish your preparations go to the drill ground with the guys . ”
“Yes . Understood . ”

Lander smiled as if telling him not to worry and nodded . Tane hit his chest and went outside .
Roan hurriedly followed his back .
As he went outside the barracks, a familiar smell tickled the tip of his nose .

‘The smell of war . No, the smell of death . ’

Ironware, bonfire, horses, sweat, guys and blood .
A smell that had many things mixed .
It was a smell he sensed for the past 20 years until he got sick of it .
It was a disgusting smell, but somehow a corner of his heart got more comfortable .

‘The more you get to like this  smell, the closer you are to death . ’

Roan smiled bitterly and shook his head .
At that time, Tane that was one step ahead of him asked bluntly .

“Where are you from?”
“I’m from a small town in the mountains that’s in the borders of the mountain ranges of Grain . ”
“Grain mountain range… . . It’s a rough place . ”

Tane talked like that and continued his steps .

‘A guy from Grain’s mountain range know the zone of Ale well?’

A feeling he got deceived .

‘Well, i’m not the one to get punished . ’

Tane smirked and looked in front .
A middle aged man was looking at the pile of documents .

“Adjutant Dosen . ”

Tane approached him and bent down .
Middle aged man, Dosen was one of the five aides in rose troop in charge of guiding .

‘He already picked quite a few . ’

Tane’s gaze moved next to him .
He saw the other guides from the other squads .
They already numbered more than 10 .

“Oh . Tane . ”

Dosen smiled brightly and greeted him with his chin .
Tane fell to the side and pointed at Roan .

“There’s also a guy in our squad that knows the zone of Ale well . ”
“Really?”

Dosen moved his sight and looked at Roan .

“It’s the first time seeing him . Is he a newcomer?”
“Yes . He came yesterday . ”
“He’s a really hot guy . ”

Dosen smirked and looked at Roan up and down .

“You know well the zone of Ale?”
“Yes . ”

Roan replied without hesitating .

‘Only the amounts of battles in the zone of Ale amount to twenty . Twenty . ’

Because of that, the surrounding zone was really clear to his eyes .
Dosen nodded at his reply .

“Then should I ask you a simple question? What’s the specialty product of Ale?”

A not difficult question .

“It’s Barley . ”
“Then, the biggest village in the zone of Ale?”
“It’s of course Ale . Continued by Riven village, Moss village, and Ferbus village . ”

Answer without stopping .

‘All places where had battles . ’

Roan smiled .
Dosen nodded with a surprised expression .

“I didn’t know that you would even know Ferbus village . It seems like you have indeed lived in this zone for quite long . You are just perfect for a guide . ”

Roan didn’t really talk about where he came from .
Because that wasn’t the important thing .

‘I find the hiding goblins one step ahead of them . ’

He looked at the guides that were next to him .

‘Because of these guys not doing their job properly, many people died . ’

Of course, he knew well why they couldn’t discover the goblins .
This was a safe zone with no monsters at all .
So they also thought that there was no way that goblins would appear .

‘This time, I am blocking them . ’

Roan bit his lower lip .

“Take this . Don’t lose it . ”

Tane gave him one spear .
Roan nodded and gripped strongly .

Grip .

A strong and heavy feeling .

‘Uncomfortable . ’

His palms were excessively soft and smooth .
The injuries and hardened skin he got the past 20 years all disappeared .

‘It really is starting again . ’

He smiled bitterly .

“Then, I will take my leave . ”

Tane saluted at Dosen and moved his step to the drill ground .
Roan took in a deep breath while looking at Tane’s back getting farther away .

“Don’t be too scared . ”

A soldier that was looking at him bumped his shoulder .
He seemed to have misunderstood that he was afraid .

“This much is nothing . Last year………”

He talked about his tales of heroism for quite a while .

‘I also have 20 years worth of tales . ’

When he started to talk, the story had no end .
At that time, Dosen put aside the pile of documents .

“I think that this many guides will be enough . Mason . As you have the most experience, lead the other guides . ”

At his words, the soldier that was talking without stop smiled brightly and nodded .

“Understood! Just leave it to me!”

An exaggerated answer .
A look that made you not able to trust in him at all .

‘This is why you got ambushed by the goblins . ’

Roan frowned .

‘It’s a bit troublesome if the rose squad gets annihilated . ’

In his past life, the rose squad got annihilated because of the ambush of the goblins .
Because of that, all of the surviving soldiers along with Roan, got separated and got enrolled in other squads .

‘Even if you pile your efforts, it gets taken by other guys . ’

The stones that came rolling aren’t as appreciated as the fixed ones .
And originally, the soldiers that were in this squad already ignored him .
And taking the efforts of another was also a frequent thing .
Because of that even after he had caught a lot of monsters, he got reprimanded for moving alone .

‘I can’t live like this in this life . ’

Grip .

He put strength in his hand .

“Well! We are also moving to the drill ground . ”

Mason’s loud voice .
He moved one step ahead of them and started walking .
Roan followed his back and took in deep breaths .

‘This is the start . ’

The moment his life starts again .
His heart beat faster .

Blow .

The wind that was blowing carried the smell of the battlefield .

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